Bush says Iran remains a threat

Iran remains a threat to the world despite a new report saying the country may not be building nuclear weapons, the US president says.

Mr Bush said an intelligence report released on Monday was a "warning sign" and his view that a nuclear Iran would be a danger "hasn't changed".

The president stressed that Iran was still trying to enrich uranium and could restart its weapons programme.

Tehran has denied continued accusations that it is developing nuclear weapons.

Mr Bush said the new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) was "an opportunity for us to rally the international community" to pressure the Iranian regime to suspend its efforts to enrich uranium - a key part of the process in making a nuclear bomb.

"Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they have the know-how to make a nuclear weapon," Mr Bush told a news conference.

Military option

Monday's report said with "high confidence" that it believed

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Iran had halted its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, but that it was continuing to enrich uranium.

The NIE overturned the previous view that Iran was pushing ahead with a nuclear weapons programme, which had led to UN Security Council and unilateral US sanctions against it.

Analysts say the intelligence will make it harder for proponents of military action against Iran to argue their case.

When asked if military action was a possibility, Mr Bush said: "The best diplomacy - effective diplomacy - is one in which all options are on the table."